Moving Limits

Every poker player’s career starts at the micro stakes games and progresses until they are at a limit that they win enough money to be satisfied. A big part of this process is the advancement in limits. Moving limits is so important to any serious poker player because not only will moving up in limits earn you more money, but it will also make you a better player because you will have much more confidence in your game. The fastest safest route to move up in limits takes careful planning and raw discipline.

We have created a list of the top five tips for moving up in limits. These tips will help you to optimize how fast you progress through the limits and will help to save you from falling too far behind in your bankroll if you fail.

Top Five Moving Limits Tips

1. Take Shots – You need to have 30 buy-ins to be properly bankrolled for the limit you are playing. This means that if you plan to play $.10/$.25 then you should have at least $750 to start with. To move up in limits to $.25/$.50 you would then need $1,500. Now you can just work up to this amount or more and then move up or you can take a shot at it a little earlier. To take a shot means that instead of having the $1,500 that you should have to move up, when you have $1,400 you move up and give it a shot. If you run well to begin with then you have learned enough from your previous limit then you should be able to win a buy-in or two which will make you properly bankrolled for the limit. By doing this you only need to win two buy-ins instead of four which will move you up much quicker to earn more money.
2. Have a Plan – When you move up by taking a shot you need to have a plan. Even more importantly you need to stick to this plan. The number one reason that players go bust is by trying to play a higher limit too soon and losing a few buy-ins. A lot of players will then continue at this limit to try to make up for their losses and end up losing more. When you take a shot and don’t succeed in winning the necessary buy-ins to stay at the limit you have to accept your losses and move back down. If you take a shot with $1,400 and lose two buy-ins you are down to $1,300. This means that you have to win eight more buy-ins at the lower limit. If you decide to try and stick with the higher limit and lose another buy-in then you need to win ten buy-ins before you can move up again. This increased how much you needed to win be 25%.
3. Practice Discipline – Poker is a game of discipline. When you get to the higher limits and you lack discipline the good players are going to take advantage of you. You will be playing scared and they will be able to pick up on that. You can avoid being extorted like this by these players by simply practicing discipline and moving back down when you are supposed to. You made the plan, so stick to it.
4. Crush the Games – Normally when you move up in limits the most common case of moving back down will be to win a few buy-ins and then lose enough that you need to move back down. While this is disappointing for a lot of players you will notice that you have learned a few things from the better players that you were playing with. When you go back down a limit and start playing again you will feel like you don’t belong there because you have already advanced in limits, so you will play with much higher confidence and normally crush the games. This means that you will be ready to take another shot at the higher limit in no time. Don’t get frustrated when you have to move back down in limits. Moving up and down in limits is just as common as upswings and downswings in your game. It happens so you need to accept it and learn how to play around it.
5. Be Prepared – It is very important when you are about to take a shot that you are prepared. Naturally the players will be better at the higher limits and there will be more grinders to face. Before you take your shot it is recommended that you take a full day of education. You can watch videos, read strategy articles, and study your notes during this time. It might seem a bit tedious, but you will be much better off. This will increase your focus and give you much better decision making for when you take the jump. A great place to study at would be any poker training site. Try CardRunners if you aren’t a member of a training site. They offer some of the best poker strategy on the web. If you aren’t yet convinced enough about poker training sites to pay money for a membership then check out PokerTrikz. PokerTrikz is a free poker training site that offers tons of great strategy as well.